Aside the Sound

Waitress Bobbie Clemons brings teriyaki prawn stirfry to Jeff Creasey (left) and a bacon cheeseburger to wife Kris Creasey, both of Custer, at Bayside Cafe on the Bellingham waterfront. PETE KENDALL HERALD PHOTO

Bayside Café atmosphere clouds over

Stacee Sledge

Apr 11, 2002 I love eating at restaurants on the water. Even in the winter (or the winter-like spring we've enjoyed this year), sitting at a window overlooking Bellingham Bay is a thrill. Remember, I'm from the land of corn fields.

The Bayside Café rests right on the water's edge, near the launching ramps of the port. Owned by the proprietors of the nearby Marina, the spacious restaurant is a nice fit for a business breakfast or lunch meeting. I've also been told that it's an enjoyable stop for casual family dining.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into the restaurant one recent lunch hour was the smell of stale cigarette smoke. I chalked it up to the attached bar at one end of the room, and thought nothing else of it.

I was seated quickly by a friendly hostess and enjoyed the view while waiting for my two lunch companions. The view of the marina, the San Juans and Sehome Hill is breathtaking, and there doesn't seem to be a bad seat in the house.

We had picked the Bayside Café for a lazy, waterside spring lunch. The menu was varied, with many sandwich options, a couple of pasta dishes and several seafood offerings.

Bayside Café

Location:
1801 Roeder Ave.

Phone: 715-0975

Serving: Seaside views with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Menu items sampled:
Turkey melt $6.95

Barbecued pork ribs $8.50
Halibut and chips $8.95
Mirror Pond beer $3.25

The decor of the Bayside Café is simple. At least two dozen navy-blue booths bookend pinkish-mauve tables, separated in some areas by decorative glass partitions featuring underwater scenes. An abundance of live plants decorate the room. It's an understated and comfortable space.

A basket of dark bread was brought for us to munch on as we pondered the lunch menu. We eventually settled on an order of barbecued pork ribs, a tuna melt and halibut and chips.

Service was a bit slow, but I think that was because we appeared to be a table of three women who weren't in a rush. Other tables around us turned over quickly.

My pork ribs were served alongside a small plate holding a moist linen napkin and wedge of lemon a nice touch to keep the inevitable mess to a minimum. An arch of six sizeable pork ribs were brushed with tangy barbecue sauce and placed atop a bed of crisp french fries. The ribs were a bit fatty, but prepared nicely, and the sauce, though not distinctive, was savory and tart. A small portion of just-right coleslaw also shared the plate.

One friend ordered the halibut and french fries. Since the waitress warned that the pieces of halibut were on the small side, my friend went with the three-piece option. The firm white chunks of halibut were fried crispy golden brown, served with a mild, nearly solid-mayonnaise sauce. Malt vinegar would have been a welcome addition, as well as a lemon wedge for added flavor. The accompanying fries were again cooked nicely, heaped alongside a ramekin of the aforementioned flavorful coleslaw.

My other lunch date's turkey melt was passable, but on the disappointing side. The only bread option appeared to be white, and thick slices of white turkey meat rested between the nicely toasted but heavily buttered pieces. She felt the yellow cheese melted unevenly over only one side of the sandwich was a bit unidentifiable.

Rather than french fries, she chose a cup of clam chowder to accompany her sandwich. In her words, it was edible, but nothing spectacular. The chowder had one thing in its favor: a cornucopia of clams.

Intermittently throughout our meal, a stream of cigarette smoke would billow toward us from a pass-through between the dining room and the bar. Mind you, we were seated in the nonsmoking section of the restaurant (we actually hadn't been asked for a preference, and were seated near the raised smoking area in the middle of the dining room). I don't like cigarette smoke in a restaurant. Of course, it's an establishment's right to allow it; I just prefer to be forewarned or to have it be more segregated.

I feared I was being overly fussy, so I polled a few friends who had been to the Bayside Café. When asked about their memories of eating there, many mentioned the cigarette smell first. I felt somewhat vindicated in my annoyance.

Rumor has it Bayside Café serves a fine breakfast, from omelets and eggs benedict to waffles and oatmeal.

Dinner options run the gamut from steak and ribs to chicken, chowder and pasta.

The Fine Print: I dine on my own dime. The opinions herein are mine alone, not The Bellingham Herald's. Agree? Disagree? Please drop me a line at StaceeSledge@hotmail.com.

 

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